Blades of the Yagyu

Yagyū Sekishūsai’s fifth son, Munenori, is awarded by Tokugawa Ieyasu with the old Yagyū domain of 2,000 koku, which had been confiscated by the Toyotomi 16 years earlier, in recognition of his remarkable performance at the Battle of Sekigahara. He triumphantly returned to his hometown, the village of Yagyū. Munenori, who received the family’s heirloom sword from his older brother Shinjiro, carried on the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū tradition and vowed to Ieyasu to create a world without war as he headed to Fushimi Castle. However, Munenori’s life was targeted by Yatōji, a ninja of the Saiga clan, remnants of the Toyotomi faction known as Onibi...